


Heroes of Time and Twilight

by Linz2



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Rusl is link’s dad because I said so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-29 12:50:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16264559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linz2/pseuds/Linz2
Summary: There have been many who carry the spirit of the legendary hero, and it's pretty rare for any of them to meet in the living world. Tensions and regrets arise when these two do.





	Heroes of Time and Twilight

**While there's really nothing to support my theory of Rusl and Uli being Link's parents other than similar hair colors, there's nothing to disprove it either, and if there is I don't care.**

* * *

 

It was the sunniest day Ordona had ever seen. Everyone was outside, celebrating the newest addition to Uli and Rusl Cheval's family.

 

"I'm going to cry. I am going to cry. This is my… this is my baby!" Rusl said, holding a young Hylian infant in his arms.

 

"I felt the same way about you, darling." His elderly mother Malon sighed affectionately, clad in a cream dress and blue sweater. She stood next to her husband, a blond-haired man named Link. He wore a red tunic tucked into black pants that were patched with blue and orange. He was missing one eye, the eyelids around it closed to hide the wound; but his remaining cobalt eye shone with kindness and warmth.

 

"He looks so much like me… and you really went and named him after me?" Link said.

 

"Yup. Link Saria Cheval, meet Link Colin Cheval! The next one will be Colin Link Cheval." Uli said.

 

"He's beautiful…" Sighed a young woman named Sera.

 

"Of course he is, he's related to me and Malon!" The older Link laughed.

 

"I… oh Farore, I can't do this. Dad, take him." Rusl said, on the verge of tears of joy. Link took the infant into his arms.

 

"Well, looks like we have a very handsome one indeed!" Link said, tickling the baby's forehead. The baby giggled, grasping his finger with a strong grip. "Hahaha, he can catch my finger already! He'll make a fine warrior." Link said.

 

"He'll make a fine goathand, actually." Uli replied.

 

"What?" Link said.

 

"You may enjoy your life of monster-slaying and world-trekking, but you have to admit that it's dangerous. We're going to have a nearby rancher, Fado, take him in as an apprentice. Maybe I'll teach him the basics of self-defense, if I need to." Rusl said. Link had a look of hurt on his face.

 

"He has a point. Your life isn't meant for everyone. It's why it took so long for us to even begin dating, you were always away on your adventures." Malon said. Link stepped up, handing Link Jr. to Uli.

 

"Rusl, can I speak with you outside?" He asked.

 

"Of course." Rusl said, opening the door and stepping outside with him. Link could see a hint of annoyance on his son's face.

 

"You can't do this. You can't raise him to lead the soft life of a cowhand!" Link said.

 

"Goathand. And I can. He's my son, not yours." Rusl said.

 

"Rusl, our bloodline is sacred. I raised you as a warrior for one reason: because you need to be strong! Your son needs to be strong! I'm old, I cannot protect Hyrule for much longer." Link said.

 

"Leave protecting Hyrule to the knights of Hyrule. You didn't let me decide my own destiny without you lurking over my shoulder, at least let him decide his!" Rusl said firmly.

 

"You just don't understand…" Link sighed.

 

"The stories you tell– they're lovely, but they're just stories. And you don't seem to understand that anymore! You never wielded some 'blade of evil's bane', you never fought the Gerudo King to the death, you never met the royal family!" Rusl said.

 

"I did all of that and more, and you could have easily met a fate like mine. And now that the forces of evil are growing stronger so quickly…"

 

"Peach cobbler?" Sera asked as she stuck her head out the window, cutting off Link.

 

"Yes, we could both use something to eat." Rusl said before Link could speak. The two entered the house, where Uli was playing peekaboo with Link Jr.

 

"He looks so cute, doesn't he? And I checked his hands, he even has a birthmark like yours!" Uli said.

 

"What?" Link said.

 

"The triangles on your hand, he has the same ones on his. His hair may be a little darker than yours, but otherwise he looks just like you!" Uli said.

 

"Let me see." Link said. He picked up his grandson, rubbing his fingers against a familiar mark on Link Jr.'s hand: a golden triangle resting on the top points of two identical golden triangles. Such a mark had long been emblazoned onto Link's own hand, a sign of the great Triforce of Courage that had once dwelled within him. Now it was gone from the elderly man's hand, passed onto the younger Link.

 

"I knew I was right, danger is coming… if Rusl will not raise him in the ways of a warrior, I suppose I must do it myself." Link said. He turned to face Uli. "Can I go for a walk with the little Link? He and I could both use some fresh air."

 

"Sure. Don't go too far!" Uli said. Link walked out of the house with the tiny infant in a sling, strolling through the woods nearby. He did not heed Uli's warning, instead playing a deep and rich melody on an ocarina that took him and Link Jr. to Death Mountain, home of the Gorons.

 

"Brother!" Darunia shouted when he saw Link, running to catch him in a bear hug. Link ducked out of the way.

 

"No hugs today, old friend. I've brought my grandson to visit, and I'm afraid you would squish him." Link said. Darunia's eyes widened as he saw the tiny little bundle.

 

"He's beautiful… what's his name?" Darunia asked.

 

"Link, just like me." Link explained.

 

"There's THREE of us now?!" Shouted a voice. Link chuckled, remembering the young Goron that had been named after him. Gorons, on average, lived for a few decades more than humans– Link of the Gorons was probably a father by now! That being said… Darunia was still strong and mighty, but he was growing old. His time on this Earth was dwindling, as was Link's.

 

"Link Jr. here has a special destiny ahead of him, one that I must train him for. I have to entrust you with a special weapon of mine– my bow. Someday he may come this way, seeking strength. Test the strength he already has– if he is worthy, entrust him with it." Link explained, handing his bow and quiver to Darunia.

 

"It will be my honor, Brother." Darunia said.

 

"Thank you, very much." Link said, bowing his head respectfully. He left, with Link Jr. still in the sling. Then he played a favorite song of his– the Prelude of Light. It whisked him away in glowing dust, and he arrived at what had once been the Temple of Time. Now it was a desolate forest, guarded by two stone golems. They bowed when they saw him, and he entered the most sacred part of the grove, where the Master Sword itself rested.

 

"You see that, my dear grandson? That is the Master Sword– the blade of evil's bane, crafted by the goddess Hylia herself. One day, you shall wield it in the war against evil. Until then, I shall raise you and train you. If Rusl wishes to not live the life of a warrior, so be it. You, on the other hand…" Link sighed. "You have no choice."

 

Link Jr. babbled and drooled in response. Link sighed, sitting down on a tree stump. Suddenly, he heard the noise of a horn. He looked up and saw a familiar face in the trees.

 

"Skull Kid?"

 

"Link!" Skull Kid exclaimed, jumping down to see him. "Well, long time no see! And I suppose it's not as much seeing for you as it is for me." He laughed, pointing at where Link's eye had once been.

 

"I suppose so. Where are Tatl and Tael?" Link asked.

 

"They're meeting with the Great Fairy in Gerudo Desert. So, what brings a Hylian like you to the Lost Woods? You don't have a fairy with you, so…" Skull Kid said.

 

"This isn't the Lost Woods, those are very far away. This is the Sacred Grove, where Castle Town once stood."

 

"Really? Well, the more forests the merrier!" Skull Kid said.

 

"I have to agree with you on that. Oh, and I have someone I want you to meet." Link said, picking up Link Jr. and holding him forward for Skull Kid to see. "This is my grandson. His name is also Link, actually."

 

"Cutie. Hey, Link Jr! I'm your uncle Skull Kid! Wanna see a magic trick?" Skull Kid said, before blowing into his horn. A puppet-like monster appeared from a burst of leaves, picking up Link Jr. and moving with the Skull Kid's motions. Everything seemed happy and nice, until Skull Kid lifted his hands high into the air, causing the puppet to drop Link Jr.

 

"No!" Link shouted, diving to grab him. He seized his grandson right in the nick of time.

 

"…Oops. Sorry." Skull Kid said, scratching his head nervously. Link cast an angry glare at him.

 

"Well, he seems to be okay… for now." Link said.

 

"I said I was sorry!" Skull Kid said.

 

"I know, I know…" Link sighed, resting against a tree trunk with his grandson in his arms. He felt a sudden shortness of breath, and for a few very long seconds he couldn't even breathe.

 

"Link?" Skull Kid called to him, glowing eyes tinted with concern.

 

"I'm okay…" Link said when his breath returned to him.

 

"What happened?" Skull Kid asked.

 

"Shortness of breath. I really am getting old… I don't know if I even have a week left." Link panted. He had always expected he'd go out fighting evil or exploring Hyrule and beyond. At least this was much more peaceful than that…

 

"It certainly isn't good… who will raise him, though?" Link said, peering down at the infant in his arms.

 

"If his parents are still alive, you should take him to them. I don't want a big search party tearing up the forest!" Skull Kid suggested.

 

"You're right… he… he lives in Ordon Village. Can you help me there?" Link said, gasping for breath.

 

"Of course." Skull Kid said, helping Link to his feet and guiding him through the woods, until they arrived at the Faron spirit spring. Link collapsed suddenly, twitching.

 

"Hey, that wasn't a week!" Skull Kid said in dismay.

 

"It's okay… it's okay…" Link sighed. "I told Faron herself to give my green clothes to the next hero a few years ago… so there's no place I'd rather die." Link sighed.

 

"Come on, you gotta get up…" Skull Kid said, voice cracking.

 

"Do me a favor, I'm begging of you. If you ever see someone dressed like me again… help them. Guide them to where your heart tells them they must go." Link said.

 

"I… I will." Skull Kid whimpered. Link smiled, before taking one last breath of air. His eyes closed, with his arms still wrapped around Link Jr.

 

"Link…" Skull Kid sighed, patting the old man's head. He heard voices coming this way, and he saw a group of people, including a young man with a striking resemblance to both Links. Skull Kid immediately disappeared in a cloud of leaves, right as Rusl found Link slumped over in the spirit spring.

 

"Dad? Dad?!" Rusl said, trying to shake him awake. He placed his fingers on his wrist, and let out an audible gasp when he found no pulse. "Dad!" Rusl shouted.

 

"Is he… oh great Hylia, please don't tell me he's…"

 

"Dead." Rusl said. Everyone erupted into a cacophony of sorrowful wails, with Rusl holding Link Jr tightly in his arms.

 

"Don't leave me too, ever…" Rusl whimpered. Why was it that the death of the man he had been angry at less than an hour ago the thing that finally broke down his stern shell?

 

The younger Link grew up as a goathand in Ordon Village, content, peaceful, and happy. His grandfather was rarely ever mentioned, and when he was it was with very mixed emotions. And the older Link, now nothing but a shade of the Hero of Time, watched restlessly from the ghostly ether he was doomed to wander until his resentment was resolved. But with his grandson growing up in such an idyllic and worry-free lifestyle, the chances of that anger being resolved were low. The Hero's Shade had enjoyed such a childhood, and he had lost his father because of it! And since Rusl was Link's father… only now did he realize he may have been paranoid, but that didn't change the fact that being unprepared could prove deadly for Link.

 

Link had inherited the Triforce of Courage for a reason. When he was sixteen, it turned out to be the only thing protecting him from the effects of a malevolent, magical darkness encroaching on Hyrule, called the Twilight. He just barely managed to free a small portion of Hyrule from the Twilight, awakening to his destiny as a hero and receiving the same green tunic his grandfather had worn all those years ago. You'd have expected the Hero's Shade would be proud of that, but he wasn't proud in the slightest. He appeared to Link hardly five minutes after, going into great detail how weak the new hero was. When Link had asked how he could get stronger, the Hero's Shade realized he could finally pass on his skills to Link, and he did so with pride.

 

Part of the process of handing down the techniques was howling beside worn-down Sheikah Stones together, when the Twilight transformed Link into a mighty wolf. The Hero's Shade assumed the form of a golden wolf for that, teaching Link songs from his childhood, such as the Song of Healing, the Prelude of Light, and the Requiem of Spirit.

 

For the last skill he had to pass on, he decided to teach Link the Song of Time. But before Link could reach the howling stone in an abandoned village, a Sheikah woman found him and recognized him as a chosen hero. Link reacted with embarrassment and humility. The Hero's Shade noted how when he had been sixteen, he would have soaked in all the praise he could get. Just that small difference was the straw that broke the camel's back. Now it was made clear to him how ridiculous his behavior had been. The new Link wasn't the Hero of Time, and never would be.

 

Determined to make what time he had left to teach Link count, the Hero's Shade chose not to teach him the Song of Time. Together, they howled a new song for the new hero. The Song of Time was for the Hero of Time, and this ballad of twilight was for the Hero of Twilight.


End file.
